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RMD CALL-OFF
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877-477-3273 |
TTY: 866-833-8777 |
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CONSIDERING RETIREMENT? READ THIS FIRST!
Tammy Flanagan is
the senior benefits director for the National
Institute of Transition Planning Inc., which
conducts federal retirement planning workshops
and seminars. She has spent 25 years helping
federal employees take charge of their
retirement by understanding their benefits.
Ms. Flanagan has written a series of articles on
retirement planning. She examines the
calendar to determine the best date to retire in
order to maximize your benefits. Ms.
Flanagan also helps people understand how to get
the most out of their lump sum leave payments
and other retirement related issues. We
have several of her articles available for you
here. We encourage all employees to read
these articles. Even if you are not
retiring this year, the information will help
you plan for the future. More information
is available at the
National Institute for Transitional Planning
website.
(The Lehigh Valley Area Local is not affiliated
with the Institute. We merely refer to it
as a source of information.)
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HR 5746: ONE STEP CLOSER TO SOLVING THE
FINANCIAL "CRISIS" -
By an 8-1 vote, the
House postal oversight subcommittee
approved H.R. 5746, the United States
Postal Service’s CSRS Obligation Modification
Act of 2010, introduced by the panel’s chairman
Stephen F. Lynch (D-MA). If passed, OPM
would be required to recalculate how much the
Postal Service should have paid into the CSRS
fund. Any overpayments, which have been
estimated as being between $55 and $75 billion,
would be transferred into the Postal Retiree
Health Benefit Fund fully funding it, as well.
This would end the required $5+ billion yearly
payments.
more... |
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BURRUS TO CONGRESS:
"We
should not even engage in serious discussion"
ON 5-day delivery -
Predicting that mail volume will
grow in 2012, APWU President William Burrus told
lawmakers June 23 that slashing service will not
solve the Postal Service’s current financial
difficulties. "No service-oriented
business can grow by reducing service,”
Burrus told the Senate Subcommittee on Federal
Financial Management, Government Information,
Federal Services, and International Security,
and the House Subcommittee on the Federal
Workforce, Postal Service, and the District of
Columbia.
more... |
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SEN COBURN TRIES TO PULL A FAST ONE -
Conservative Sen. Tom Coburn
(R-OK) tried to pull a fast one at a joint
hearing sponsored by Senate and House postal
subcommittees on Wednesday. Coburn, who
authored the anti-labor amendment to a Senate
bill (S. 1507) to require arbitrators to
consider the financial health of the USPS when
ruling on collective bargaining agreements,
remarked that arbitrators are currently
prohibited from considering USPS’ economic
circumstances.
Of course, that is patently
false. Arbitrators are free to consider the
financial state of the USPS when issuing their
decisions, and have routinely done so. . .more... |
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USPS
FINED FOR ELECTRICAL SAFETY VIOLATIONS IS
PORTLAND, OR -
The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational
Safety and Health Administration has cited
the U.S. Postal Service for alleged willful
and serious violations of safety standards
at the Portland, Ore., Processing and
Distribution Center. An OSHA inspection
conducted in response to employee complaints
resulted in a total of $77,500 in fines. more
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OSHA
HITS USPS FOR SAFETY VIOLATIONS IN
PITTSBURGH PROCESSING PLANT -
OSHA issued the USPS four counts of
“willful” violations, one repeat violation
and two “serious” violations at the
Pittsburgh P&DC. The fines, totaling
$299,500 These charges bring the
Postal Service’s total OSHA fines to nearly
$1.5 million. more
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USPS
CITED FOR OSHA VIOLATIONS IN PHILLY -
OSHA issued the USPS six counts of “willful”
and “serious” violations at the Philadelphia
P&DC. The fines, totaling $217,000
were in addition to similar fines issued at
the Philly BMC. These recent charges bring
the Postal Service’s total OSHA fines to
nearly $1.5 million.
more
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Facts Don’t Lie: Chart Shows True Picture of
Postal Service’s Financial Health
In a series of
recent Updates for union members, I have
pointed out that the Postal Service’s current
financial difficulties are the result of the
Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act of
2006 (PAEA), which imposed on the USPS the
onerous burden of pre-funding future retiree
healthcare liabilities — in amounts exceeding $5
billion annually over a 10-year period. A
USPS chart
[PDF]
confirms my analysis: It shows that from 2001
through 2008, minus the pre-funding requirement
of the PAEA, the Postal Service experienced a
cumulative surplus of more than $14 billion.
full story
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CLERK CRAFT JOB POSTING
Posting #27465 is
currently available for bids. The posting
will close on July 30, 2010. The Local was
not given an opportunity to review the job
posting prior to it going up on the board.
The Local is concerned about some other jobs
that were not included in the posting and will
be trying to get them posted with the next
vacancy notice. Interested employees can
bid job using the self serve kiosk, the
telephone or the internet.
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TICKETS
AVAILABLE FOR IRON PIGS PICNIC
The LV Local is
sponsoring a Night at the Ballpark on Sunday,
August 08, 2010 when the Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs
take on the Gwinnett Braves. Tickets are
$15 each and includes admission to the ballpark
and all you can eat food and soft drinks for two
hours (One hour before and one hour after game
starts).
Click for more
INFORMATION
or to download a
TICKET ORDER
FORM
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APWU FMLA FORMS TEMPORARILY "DE-LINKED" FROM
WEBSITE
Many LV Local
members are reporting problems getting their
FMLA certifications accepted. More often
then not their completed APWU FMLA forms are
returned to them as incomplete by the FMLA
Coordinator in Harrisburg. The Coordinator
also includes a highlighted Department of Labor
for WH-380 with instructions to fill out the
highlighted portions. Obtaining FMLA
certification is supposed to be a simple and
painless process. However, it is clear
that the USPS FMLA Coordinators are attempting
to frustrate members to the point that they give
up their attempt to get FMLA certification.
In some cases the FMLA Coordinators are telling
members that the APWU forms are "unacceptable"
and that a WH-380 must be submitted.
Make no mistake -
The APWU FMLA forms are proper
FMLA forms which have been accepted by the USPS
at the National Level. In fact, any
form is acceptable as long as the necessary
information is included. A member could
request FMLA using a Kleenex as long as all the
needed info is present.
If the APWU Forms
are OK, why has the local stopped handing them
out? The LV Local stands by the notion
that the forms are valid and acceptable.
We are working within the avenues available to
us to rectify this problem. Until this
dispute is resolved, the Coordinators will
continue to reject APWU FMLA forms.
We are confident that this will be resolved in
our favor. However, until then the only
person suffering is the member who is forced to
make a second (or third) trip to the doctor with
a new form.
The LV Local is
recommending that, for the time being, members
use the Dept. of Labor form WH-380 for their
initial FMLA certification request. This
will remove a major obstacle to acceptance of
the condition and deprive the FMLA Coordinators
of their favorite "technical" objection.
The Dept of Labor form is available in two
forms: WH-380-E for an employees own
condition and WH-380-F for a family members
condition. These forms can be downloaded
using the links above.
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POSTAL BOARD OF GOVERNORS
APPROVES POTTER's 5-DAY DELIVERY PLAN.
The U.S. Postal Service
Board of Governors today approved
management’s request to move forward with
its five-day delivery proposal and to file a
request for an advisory opinion with the
Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC) on March
30. The plan to eliminate Saturday
delivery is part of PMG Potter's 10-Year
Plan which has been dubbed "Delivering the
Future". The USPS hopes to implement
5-day delivery in October 2010 which
coincides with the beginning of the 2011
Fiscal Year. Even if the PRC approves
the change, the USPS must still seek the
blessing of Congress. President Burrus
estimates that going to 5-day delivery will
eliminate approximately 2,400 clerk craft
jobs
More. . .
There is a bill in
Congress, House Resolution 167, which, if
passed, would require the post office to
maintain six day delivery. To contact
you Representative and tell them to support
HR 167 click
HERE.
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LV
P&DC CLERK CRAFT JOB POSTING SCHEDULE
On of the most asked question at the Lehigh
Valley P&DC lately is, "When
is the next job posting going up?"
The USPS has provided a tentative schedule
for Clerk Craft bid postings at the Lehigh
Valley P&DC for the year 2010.
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Posting Opens |
Posting Closes |
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01/29/10 |
02/12/10 |
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03/12/10 |
03/26/10 |
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04/23/10 |
05/07/10 |
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06/04/10 |
06/18/10 |
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07/16/10 |
07/30/10 |
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08/27/10 |
09/10/10 |
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10/08/10 |
10/22/10 |
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11/19/10 |
12/03/10 |
Keep in mind this is a tentative schedule
and the dates are subject to change |
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UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFIT FILING TIPS
Sandy Vito, Acting Secretary for the
Department has provided us with valuable
information and tips for members who, due to
reductions in workhours, might find
themselves applying for unemployment
benefits. The fastest way to apply for
benefits, according to Ms. Vito is on-line
at
www.dli.state.pa.us. In addition to this
information, Ms. Vito has provided links and
resources that will provide members with the
most up to date information available. The
Dept. of Labor & Industry has developed a
"tip card" that you can print and carry with
you. To learn more, visit the
Unemployment Resources page on the
PPWU website. |
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